About Us

The first sustainable tourism/ecotourism in Hanoi

Who We Are

We are local people who were born and grew up in Duong Lam ancient village. Inspired by the need of sustainable tours/responsible tours in Vietnam where tourists can enjoy their holiday and at the same time respect the culture of people and also respect the environment and to create better places for people to live in and to visit, we founded the first non-profit organization operating ecotourism in Hanoi to retain cultural, historical and natural value of the most ancient village in Vietnam and boosting green travel in Hanoi and Duong Lam Ancient Village, the first and most ancient village in Vietnam.

Why Duong Lam Ecotourism was born

Staying at a Western hotel is not attractive enough, and they are excited by the prospect of experiencing the authentic local way of life: to go fishing with a local fisherman, to eat the fish with his family, to sleep in a typical village house. These tourists or travelers, are happy to know that while doing so they promote the economic well-being of those same people they spend time with. The idea to set up Duong Lam Ecotourism is to enable travelers to experience the world through the eyes of its local people while contributing directly to those people, ensuring that tourist dollars benefit the local community directly. In other words, Duong Lam Ecotourism was born to:

provide more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues

make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity

generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of local communities, improves working conditions

minimise negative economic, environmental, and social impacts

build local pride and confidence, give opportunity to the local people, empower them, enable them to enjoy the fruits of tourism directly

What we provide

We provide you with a great number of tours such as Like A Local Tour, Farming Tour, Biking Tour, Foodie tour, Cultural and Heritage Tour, Trekking Tour, Creative Tour,etc.

What makes us special?

We are the first & foremost pioneer in sustainable tours/responsible tours in Vietnam.

We are local people who know well about their hometown

We are passionate about creating better places for people to live in and to visit

Our vision

Become the Vietnam’s leader in sustainable tourism that takes a triple-bottom line approach: tourism that is not only environmentally friendly, but also generates social and economic benefits.

Help the locals have better standard of living and increase their awareness about natural & heritage conservation

Preserve Duong Lam village to maintain its own historical, agricultural, natural, and cultural value.

Testimonial

“Deserves its great reputation”

We booked a day tour to Duong Lam ancient village with Duong Lam Tours. Miss Julie took us around just where we wanted to go for a long day, and she was tirelessly fun, informative, upbeat, and helpful. She organised everything and made it look effortless – the occasional transportation, food/drink breaks, entry into places that required it. We can’t recommend her enough. Honestly, this is a great company to book with. They’re locals there ,flexible and will make sure that you see and do what you want to do in the time that you have. They are honest and thorough. Thanks Julie and your team and wish you guys the best of luck!

Susan SmedleyLecturer

“’A Day Away From The Hustle & Bustle ”

About 1 hr. drive from Hanoi the village is easy walking around. The locals go about their daily chores. There were many locals gathered around for the cock fights. The markets sell many local delights – which we tried. Lunch was at the local restaurant – which we thoroughly enjoyed. A good place to take many photos of the different traditional buildings.

Andy Law

“A great break from Hanoi”

If you are in Hanoi for a few days I highly recommend visiting this place, a return cab including waiting at the place for four hours cost around $30. You can rent a bike for the day for $1. We took a tour with an NGO- Duong Lam Ecotourism where you paid what you want, much better than the expensive tours at the agencies. It takes about an hour to get to and is beautiful when you do, cycling among the rice paddies with the view of the village and the spire of the old church in the distance. Although it is a “tourist” village it’s not overrun with tourists and thus feels relatively authentic.

Kevin Jimenez

“Unique village”

Completely different to downtown Hanoi and well worth the trip to see another side of Vietnam. The tour we booked with Duong Lam Ecotourism was totally amazing. The tour guide, Ms. Julie is the most supportive guide ever. She got us involved in farming activities, cooking class. It was really interesting experience. The lunch was great. Duong Lam food was the best!

Toru KonnoStore Manager

“Best tour ever in Hanoi”

My fantastic guide, Mr.Oliver was brilliant and lots of fun. If you like a bike ride and a good walk through the ancient world of Vietnam I highly recommend it! Just as a note, where we had lunch a film crew was also doing a TV show, and no I did get a starring role

Jungmi Yun

“Streets of history!”

I was on my second tour of duty to Vietnam and looking for a more earthy experience as opposed to the commercial offerings(which were fantastic) that Jennifer and myself had. I told Julie (Duong Lam Ecotourism organizer) that I was looking for something different. Chi came back with the Duong Lam Historical Village which is only a short drive out of Hanoi, well 45km in Vietnam can take longer than the average drive in Australia! The tour was a winner. The best part of the tour was having a random chat with a one of the local farmers, and the ladies who were selling water to make a living which were on the outer part of the community. We did learn Vietnamese from them. Lot of fun!

Xavier Divaret

“Nice day trip to get out of the city.”

It was good to see a functioning traditional village, just over an hour out of busy Hanoi. We came across markets and locals getting about their business. Our best tour guide ever, Mr. Bill took us to the beautiful yellow rice paddy fields. The highlight was farming activities with local people. They were so friendly, sweet, honest and hospitable.

Inge HannemannMarketing Manager

“A world within a world”

The village is the most excellent place to walk around, and to take in the sights and pace of traditional village life – so different from the fast pace of any city, anywhere. The restored buildings are fantastic, and congrats to the Vietnamese Govt for having the wisdom to keep and protect them for future generations. This is a world class heritage, and a reminder of the amazing building skills of the past villages who lived here. Big thanks to Mr.Hugo for your kindness and information about Vietnamese history and culture. Keep in touch Hugo

Emma MelisStudent

“A lovely day out from the bustle of Hanoi”

The restored houses are fascinating and the village is kept in a fairly traditional/pre-plastic state – i.e. no gaudy signs and no modern convenience food rubbish everywhere. Continue reading “Melissa Speek” »

Melissa SpeekFreelancer

Great weekend getaway!

The village itself is beautiful and there are lot’s of things to see. Many houses are even protected by the UNESCO. The tour guide, Mr. Bill took us to one of the oldest temples in Vietnam with almost 300 statues there. Totally unique and magnificent temple. The hightlight of our tour was farming activities. We made 3 different kinds of food/cakes which are traditional cuisine there and then brought it home as a souvenir. Totally in love with food at this village. Highly recommend Duong Lam Ecotourism and Mr.Bill for a trip to this beautiful village

Who We Are

Inspired by the need of sustainable tourism/ecotourism in Vietnam where tourists can enjoy their holiday and at the same time respect the culture of people and also respect the environment and to create better places for people to live in and to visit, we founded the first non-profit organization operating ecotourism to retain cultural, historical and natural value of the most ancient village in Vietnam and to boost green travel in Hanoi and Duong Lam Ancient Village... Read more